How do I add a highlight to text in Adobe Acrobat?

Open your PDF in Acrobat. Go to the 'Comment' tools. Select the 'Highlight' tool. Click and drag your mouse over the text you want to highlight. The text will change color.

Capture Site Markups in Adobe Acrobat — How-to & AI prompts

AI prompts

2 ways to ask · copy any one

AExecute — “help me do it”Capture the redlined markups from my site-visit PDF, flatten and save a copy with author and…+

Capture the redlined markups from my site-visit PDF, flatten and save a copy with author and date, attach the marked file to an email, and send it to [engineer1=Raj the structural engineer] and [engineer2=Lila the civil engineer] with a request to acknowledge within [days=2] working days.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

BImprove — “do it better”Before distributing the redlines, add a short cover page listing the site_visit_date, observed…+

Before distributing the redlines, add a short cover page listing the site_visit_date, observed issues, and required responses; highlight priority markups for engineer1 Raj and engineer2 Lila, attach a high-resolution snapshot of critical areas, and request a consolidated revision by deadline next Wednesday to avoid duplicate work.

when the reply comes backPush once: ask it to sharpen the weakest part, and to say what it assumed.

How to do it

the tool · the steps · what to avoid

1
Open your PDF file in Adobe Acrobat.
2
Click the Comment button in the toolbar to display the commenting tools.
3
Select the annotation tool you want to use, such as Note, Highlight, Text Box, or Draw.
4
Click on the PDF page where you want to add your comment or annotation.
5
Type your comment or draw your annotation as needed.
6
Click away from the annotation or press Escape to save your comment or annotation.

In the appWith the API

You can use multiple annotation types in one session, such as highlighting text and adding sticky notes for detailed feedback.

This runs in the Acrobat app - there is no separate API for this task.

Glossary

words on this page

MarkupHighlighting, underlining, or drawing on a PDF to show what is important.ExampleYou use the markup tool to highlight key sentences in the report.

AnnotationAn annotation is a note or mark added to a document, like a highlight or a stamp, without changing the original text.ExampleHe added an annotation to the PDF, circling a key sentence and adding a question mark.

FlattenTo combine all comments and layers into the main document so they cannot be easily changed or removed.ExampleAfter review, you flatten the document to make all comments a permanent part of the text.

Who does this

3 roles

EditorTeacherProject Manager

FAQ

about this task

Open your PDF in Acrobat.
Go to the 'Comment' tools.
Select the 'Highlight' tool.
Click and drag your mouse over the text you want to highlight. The text will change color.

A sticky note is a small icon that you click to open a pop-up window where you type your comment. It's good for short notes without taking up document space. A text box is a visible box on the document where you type your comment directly. It's better when you need the comment to be always visible on the page. Both let you add written feedback.

You should sanitize your PDF to protect private information. Comments and markups are stored as a separate layer, meaning they can be seen or recovered even if they seem hidden. Sanitizing removes all these review notes completely. This ensures that sensitive feedback or internal discussions are not accidentally shared when you send a 'final' version of your document to others, preventing data leaks.

To draw a circle on an image in your PDF, you should use the 'Drawing Markup' tools. These tools allow you to add shapes like circles, arrows, or lines directly onto your document. You can find them within the 'Comment' tools section in Adobe Acrobat. Select the circle tool and draw it over the image.

Comments and Annotations are features in Adobe Acrobat that let you add feedback and marks to a PDF document. This includes tools like sticky notes, highlights, underlines, and drawing tools. They help you review, discuss, and share changes on documents without changing the original text.

Capture Site Markups

When to use it

AI prompts

How to do it

Glossary

The real tasks

Who does this

FAQ

Sources

Adobe help